2008 - Data Points by Date/Period

Golden Bauhinia Square is an open area located in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. It is named after the iconic giant statue of a golden Bauhinia blakeana, which stands at the center of the square outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This location is historically significant as it hosted the ceremonies marking the handover of Hong Kong and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in July 1997.A daily flag-raising ceremony takes place at 8:00 am, making the square a popular tourist attraction. The golden sculpture itself is a six-meter-high gilded flower, set atop a red granite pillar and pyramid-shaped base. It is considered a symbol of pride and identity for Hong Kong's people post-handover. On special occasions such as the second day of Chinese New Year and National Day of the People's Republic of China, the square is illuminated by a grand fireworks display. Locals have affectionately nicknamed the statue the 'Golden Pak Choi.'The flag-raising ceremony at Golden Bauhinia Square is conducted by the Hong Kong Police Force and features three variations:1. Daily Flag-Raising Ceremony: Held every day except the 1st of each month, this version involves regular police attire and includes the playing of the national anthem.2. Enhanced Flag-Raising Ceremony: Held on the 1st of each month (except July and October), this ceremony features a flag-raising party of Hong Kong police officers in ceremonial dress, accompanied by a rifle unit. The Police Band performs the national anthem, followed by a 10-minute musical performance by the Police Pipe Band.3. Special Flag-Raising Ceremony: Conducted on 1 July and 1 October, marking significant national events.Since July 2008, the flag-raising ceremony on the second Sunday of each month has been carried out by local youth uniformed groups (UGs). During these ceremonies, the flag party consists of five members: a commander, two national flag raisers, and two regional flag raisers. These events do not feature a band performance.Golden Bauhinia Square remains a vibrant cultural and historical landmark, drawing visitors to experience its unique blend of tradition and modern symbolism.

The Legislative Council Complex (LegCo Complex) is the headquarters of Hong Kong's legislature, playing a central role in the legislative process and serving as a focal point for political events and public demonstrations. Located at 1 Legislative Council Road in Central, Hong Kong, it is part of the Central Government Complex and faces Victoria Harbour. Officially opened in 2011, it was the first purpose-built building for Hong Kong's legislature, replacing the historic Old Supreme Court Building.The complex was developed as part of the Tamar Development Project, aimed at consolidating government functions in a modern location following Hong Kong’s 1997 sovereignty transfer. Planning began in the early 2000s, and construction started in 2008, facing public debate over costs and environmental concerns.In 2019, during the anti-extradition bill protests, a group of protesters stormed the LegCo Complex, causing significant damage estimated at HK$10 million. However, they avoided damaging historical artifacts and libraries.Following the 2021 electoral reforms, which increased LegCo members from 70 to 90, the complex’s expansion was approved, leading to cost overruns. The expansion includes additional floors, interior upgrades, and conversion works, expected to be completed by 2026.Architecturally, the LegCo Complex combines solemnity and openness, symbolized by the use of square and round shapes. Sustainable design features include a natural light funnel, green roofs, a sky garden, a lily pond, and a double-layered ventilated façade, all contributing to energy efficiency and environmental integration. The complex continues to evolve, serving as both a legislative hub and a symbol of Hong Kong’s modern identity.

Rue Saint-Paul, located in Old Montreal, Quebec, is the city’s oldest street and was once its main thoroughfare. Originally paved in 1672 by François Dollier de Casson, it followed the path of an old road bordering a former fort and was named in honor of Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve, Montreal's founder, who built his home there in 1650. Officially established by the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice in 1673, Rue Saint-Paul was designed along the northern edge of the commune and extended east to west, connecting the Sainte-Marie and Récollets suburbs. Initially 7.8 meters (24 French feet) wide, sections of the street were later broadened to improve traffic flow.Rue Saint-Paul has a winding layout compared to Dollier de Casson’s typically straight street designs, running parallel to Notre-Dame Street and following the contour of the Saint Lawrence River from Montfort Street to Berri Street. It is divided by Saint-Laurent Boulevard and features cobblestone paving along much of its length.The street has been a central site for commerce and culture, anchored by landmarks such as Bonsecours Market and the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel. Historically, it hosted Montreal's busiest market square, Place Royale, until 1803, and became a hub for prestigious buildings like the Palais de l'Intendance (1698) and Château de Vaudreuil (1724). In the 19th century, it emerged as the heart of Montreal’s press, home to numerous French and English-language publications. Rue Saint-Paul was lively day and night, lined with shops and illuminated by Montreal's first oil street lights. Although plans to pedestrianize the street in 2008 were eventually abandoned following merchant opposition, it remains a celebrated historic and cultural site in Montreal.

Piapot is a small hamlet in the Rural Municipality of Piapot No. 110, Saskatchewan, Canada. Recognized as a designated place by Statistics Canada, Piapot had a population of 50 in the 2016 Census.The hamlet traces its origins back to the 1880s, when it served as a siding on the Canadian Pacific Railway. Once a bustling community, Piapot has gradually declined since the 1950s, now resembling a ghost town. Although the local hotel and saloon closed in 2006, they reopened in May 2008 as the Piapot Saloon and Guesthouse, embracing the area's western heritage. It offers a nostalgic escape with a gift shop and old-style saloon. The only other public business is the post office.In the 2021 Census, Piapot recorded a population of 40, a 20% decrease from 2016, with residents occupying 22 of its 29 private dwellings. Covering a land area of 0.74 km², the hamlet had a population density of 54.1 people per km² in 2021.

Dundurn is a town with a population of 675, located in central Saskatchewan, within the Rural Municipality of Dundurn No. 314. It lies along Highway 11, or the Louis Riel Trail, about 42 km south of Saskatoon. Primarily an agricultural town, Dundurn also serves as a bedroom community for Saskatoon and Canadian Forces Detachment Dundurn, located 6 km to the north and operating under 17 Wing Winnipeg.The town is situated between Highway 11 and Brightwater Lake, with Swamp Lake directly to the north. Blackstrap Provincial Park, located 7 km east of town, features a man-made lake (Blackstrap Lake) and a man-made mountain (Mount Blackstrap), which was built between 1969 and 1970 to host the 1971 Canada Winter Games. While the ski hill remained open to the public until 2008, it is now abandoned.Nearby attractions include Dakota Dunes Casino and Golf Course on the Whitecap Dakota First Nation, which opened in 2007, and the CFB Dundurn Golf Club, located at Canadian Forces Detachment Dundurn. The town also features roadside attractions like the Bone Gatherer and Horse and Wagon along Highway 11, and the Wilson Museum, which is hosted in three buildings, including the historic Woodview School.Dundurn has three designated heritage properties. The Dundurn Community Centre, formerly known as Dundurn School or Old Brick School, was built in 1916 by the Bigelow Bros. and designed by architect R. M. Thomson. It served as a school until 1980 and now functions as a community center. The Old Bank Building, constructed in 1906, housed various banks such as the Northern Bank and Northern Crown Bank, and later served as a post office from 1935 to 1957. Dundurn Moravian Brethren Church, also referred to as the United Church of Dundurn, was built as a joint church for Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Moravian congregations.According to the 2021 Census, Dundurn saw a population increase of 10.5% from 2016, with 675 residents living in 257 of its 269 private dwellings. The town has a population density of 456.1 people per square kilometer over its 1.48 km² area.

Built by Major William Bell in 1882, the round fieldstone Bell Barn is one of Saskatchewan’s oldest agricultural structures. Situated just north of Indian Head, it represents the last remnant of Bell’s effort to establish a corporate farm in the Canadian West. The barn, measuring 20 meters in diameter, features evenly spaced gun ports and a central silo that also served as a lookout tower. It had the capacity to store 4,000 bushels of oats and 100 tons of hay, and included an office.The barn faced the risk of disappearing from the Prairie landscape as it deteriorated over time. Previous preservation efforts had failed due to insufficient financial backing. However, with the dedication of Saskatchewan archivist and heritage consultant Frank Korvemaker, the Indian Head community successfully raised over $1 million. In 2008, the barn’s stone walls were meticulously dismantled and rebuilt on land donated by the municipality, located about 200 meters north of its original site, while still remaining within the 1882 farmyard.

Bell Farm, established in 1882 by William Robert Bell, covers ten square miles (16 km²) or 60,000 acres in Indian Head, Saskatchewan. The Bell Farm Barn, now among the top ten most endangered sites listed by the Heritage Canada Foundation, featured a round structure with a silo that also served as a lookout tower. This silo had a capacity of 4,000 bushels of oats and 100 tons of hay, and the barn was designed to house 36 horses and an office. The silo’s central location reduced labor for livestock feeding and provided a more durable facility compared to rectangular barns.The first settlers arrived in 1882, ahead of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The scale of farming operations often attracted passenger trains, making the farm a local tourist attraction.The initial buildings included a 16-room, two-story stone house, four stone and two frame cottages, an ice house, a cow barn, and a chicken house. The farm was divided into 200-acre sections, each supervised by a foreman, with phone lines connecting the entire property—one of the first two phone lines in the North West Territories. By 1886, the farm was equipped with 45 reapers, 78 ploughs, 6 mowers, 40 seeders, 80 harrows, and seven steam threshers to cultivate 5,000 acres of wheat, oats, and potatoes. Livestock at that time included 200 horses, 250 cattle, and 900 hogs, along with wooden granaries on wheels, a grain elevator, and a flour mill.Major Bell’s plan to establish an Agricultural College included a $12,000 building intended to attract Dr. Tanner, a renowned agricultural professor. However, only the building was completed.In response to the collapsing farmhouse due to deteriorating mortar, Dave Aldous initiated a campaign to save Bell Farm. His letter reached Frank Korvemaker, who later founded the Bell Barn Society and wrote a book on stone buildings. Korvemaker, experienced in heritage preservation, also contributed to preserving the Claybank Brick Plant National Historic Site. The Bell Barn Society, founded in 2006, aimed to restore the barn and raise public awareness. They received $50,000 from James Richardson International (JRI) for the restoration and for creating an interpretive center for Western Canadian Agriculture. JRI, celebrating 150 years in Canada, supported the effort, which also received backing from the Heritage Canada Foundation, the Saskatchewan Architectural Heritage Society, local historians, schools, and businesses.In April 2008, the 126-year-old stone farm was dismantled for reconstruction. The site will feature a reconstructed barn with a sheet-metal roof and ventilation features, along with an 8-sided cupola. The reconstruction is estimated to cost $1 million. An 1883 Bell Farm cottage is preserved at the Indian Head Museum. The provincial and federal governments will not grant heritage status because the barn is not being rebuilt on its original site. Nevertheless, the original site will be preserved with the lower foot of the original building left for archaeological study.

The Doukhobor Dugout House, constructed in 1899 by Russian Doukhobor immigrants, is a rare and significant example of the temporary shelters built by settlers of various ethnic backgrounds upon their arrival on the Canadian Prairies. Located near Blaine Lake, Saskatchewan, on the Cheveldayoff family homestead along a bend of the North Saskatchewan River, this dugout house is the only known surviving structure of its kind in Canada. It serves as a poignant reminder of the hardships faced by early settlers in a largely treeless landscape and the practical solutions they adopted for survival. For the first five years, around 300 Doukhobors lived in these dugouts, with one shelter housing nine families in an area of about 436 square feet. During the winter, five babies were born, one of whom is buried at the top of the hill to the north. With no money and limited resources, these vegetarian pacifists were determined to survive; while the men worked on the railroads during the summer, the women hitched themselves to plows to prepare land for gardens. The site is part of a broader landscape of farm buildings and archaeological remains that tell the story of Doukhobor communities' evolution on the Prairies. After the families moved to the nearby village of Oospenie, the dugout was repurposed for various uses, including as a root cellar. Artifacts found within the house, such as an oven door, a button, pottery, and an old shoe, serve as tangible memories of life during those early years from 1899 to 1904. In the summer of 2004, the University of Saskatchewan’s Department of Archaeology, led by graduate student Meagan Brooks, conducted an archaeological investigation of the site. With extensive community involvement, the project established a baseline for archaeological units, cleared underbrush, removed surface artifacts, and trained volunteers in excavation techniques. The outcome of this investigation was Meagan Brooks’ Master’s thesis, 'Public Archaeology With a Doukhobor Descendant Community', which successfully preserved a vital part of Doukhobor history. The significance of the Doukhobor Dugout House has been recognized at both the provincial and national levels. In the spring of 2005, the site was designated as a Provincial Heritage Property. Later, in late August 2008, it was officially recognized as a National Historic Site of Canada by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC). A commemorative plaque highlighting the importance of the dugout house was unveiled during a ceremony in July 2013. Visitors to the Doukhobor Dugout House can explore this historic site and learn more about Doukhobor culture and the broader history of early settlers in Canada.

Dorasan Peace Park, established near Dorasan Station in June 2008, serves as both a tranquil meeting place and an educational venue. It aims to remind teenagers of the importance of peace and ecology while teaching them about the history of the DMZ. The park features an eco-pond shaped like the Korean peninsula and observation decks that allow visitors to experience the DMZ's ecological environment. Inside the 352m² exhibition hall, visitors can watch a state-of-the-art 3D stereoscopic presentation on the history of Mt. Dora and the natural ecology of the DMZ.

The Business Central Towers comprise a pair of 51-floor skyscrapers located in Dubai Media City, United Arab Emirates. With matching heights of 265 meters (869 ft), both towers closely resemble New York City's iconic Chrysler Building. Topping out in November 2007, construction concluded in early 2008. Originally named the Al Kazim Tower Towers, they were later rebranded as the Business Central Towers to create a more welcoming environment for international companies. Construction commenced in 2005 and was overseen by National Engineering Bureau as the architect and Al Shafar General Contracting Co (ASGC Construction) as the developer. The complex boasts a total of 53 floors and is equipped with 19 elevators along with 2 escalators.

2008 (50)

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14-12-1985

06-11-2018

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